SAN ANTONIO – A former San Antonio pediatric dentist was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison for producing child sexual abuse material.
Abiel Alejandro Saldivar, 33, received the sentence at a federal court in San Antonio. Saldivar was arrested in Jan. 2022 after he was accused of messaging minors on different social media platforms.
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According to court documents, Saldivar told the minors that he had explicit images of them. If the children did not record and send videos of themselves performing sexual acts to him, Saldivar threatened to make those images public, the documents said.
After his arrest, the court said Saldivar remained in custody. He officially pled guilty in May 2023.
“The defendant, a local pediatric dentist, was aggressively and ruthlessly sexually exploiting children via social media,” U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas said. “This case demonstrates the benefits of collaboration between local, state and federal law enforcement to serve victims and hold perpetrators, especially those who prey on the most vulnerable of our society, accountable.”
The court said Saldivar was also ordered to pay $45,000 to the victims’ families as restitution, special assessments cost worth $55,100, and is subject to a lifetime supervised release.